Social Networks and Dying

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A new Oklahoma law giving estate executors control over the social networking profiles of dead people might conflict with terms of service agreements but its co-author says it still could be useful in encouraging people to consider what might happen to such profiles after they die.

Former state Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, co-authored the law that took effect on Nov. 1. The law assumes a social network account is the property of the person who creates it and uses it. But most social networking websites claim that information as their own when users sign up.

Mike Lackey, a Washington, D.C., attorney with experience in social network law, tells The Oklahoman he thinks the Oklahoma law is the first of its kind in the U.S.